SELF-PROFESSED CLERIC SAYS DOPE NO CRIME, SEEKS JUDGE'S ARREST

A provincial court judge showed great restraint yesterday when a
self-professed minister of God tried to have him arrested in court. Edward
Jay Robin Belanger said he was the highest power in the courtroom and
ordered Judge Ray Wyant to throw out a series of drug charges against a
fellow minister, Richard Friesen.

The men claim marijuana is a gift from God and is not illegal.

When Wyant refused to dismiss the case prior to hearing evidence at a
trial, Belanger ordered sheriff's officers to take him into custody.

"You disrespect the Queen. You offer blasphemy before God. You are acting
out of order and in contempt of the court that you sit," Belanger shouted
at Wyant.

"God gave (marijuana) to me. As a minister, I have the right to use that
gift. I don't care if it's the cocoa plant or the opium poppy, if God put
it there, it's for our use."

Friesen and his 16-year-old son were arrested in March. They are accused of
having 555 grams of marijuana in their home.

Belanger is representing Friesen at his drug trial. Yesterday morning, the
Crown was seeking to set dates for the trial.

The procedure, which should have taken a few minutes, took nearly an hour
and led to several heated confrontations in the courtroom.

Belanger threatened to charge Wyant with treason, and claimed he was
assaulted by sheriff's officers while trying to leave the court while the
judge was speaking.

He also told a Free Press reporter he would charge him with fraud if he
printed his name without his consent.

Belanger and Friesen refused to remove their hats in court, which they
claim are "religious regalia", but Wyant didn't press the issue.

Both men declined to give their names to the court, claiming the courts
have not taken an "oath of allegiance" to the King James Bible, which they
say is the supreme law.

Wyant could have charged Belanger with contempt of court but chose to deal
with him civilly.

But the judge eventually grew tired of Belanger and Friesen's refusal to
co-operate and entered a not-guilty plea on Friesen's behalf.

A trial has been set for next March.

"Mr. Belanger, you will not control these proceedings, as much as you would
like," said Wyant.

"As a minister of God, I don't see how you have the power to stop me,"
Belanger replied.

Later in the day, it was several sheriff's officers who used their power to
stop Belanger from entering a courtroom in which a self-professed knight,
Sir Daniel Lear, was having a sentencing hearing for tax evasion.

Belanger and Friesen again refused to remove their hats and were ordered
out of the jam-packed courtroom.

Belanger began shoving the sheriff's officers and shouting that he was the
victim of discrimination. His verbal tirade continued outside the court for
several minutes.

Sheriff's officers eventually removed him from the courthouse without
further incident.